Maven: The Complete Reference
2.8. About the Apache Software License
Apache Maven is released under the Apache Software License, Version 2.0. If you want to read this license, you can read ${M2_HOME}/LICENSE.txt or read this license on the Open Source Initiative’s web site here: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/apache2.0.php.
There’s a good chance that, if you are reading this book, you are not a lawyer. If you are wondering what the Apache License, Version 2.0 means, the Apache Software Foundation has assembled a very helpful Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page about the license available here: http://www.apache.org/foundation/licence-FAQ.html. Here’s is the answer to the question "I am not a lawyer. What does it all mean?"
[This license] allows you to:
- freely download and use Apache software, in whole or in part, for personal, company internal, or commercial purposes;
- use Apache software in packages or distributions that you create.
It forbids you to:
- redistribute any piece of Apache-originated software without proper attribution;
- use any marks owned by The Apache Software Foundation in any way that might state or imply that the Foundation endorses your distribution;
- use any marks owned by The Apache Software Foundation in any way that might state or imply that you created the Apache software in question.
It requires you to:
- include a copy of the license in any redistribution you may make that includes Apache software;
- provide clear attribution to The Apache Software Foundation for any distributions that include Apache software.
It does not require you to:
- include the source of the Apache software itself, or of any modifications you may have made to it, in any redistribution you may assemble that includes it;
- submit changes that you make to the software back to the Apache Software Foundation (though such feedback is encouraged).